Viktor(77)
But then, out of nowhere, her voice rings, waking me up, pulling me back from the abyss.
Chapter 26
Viktor
“Viktor!” Her voice is like that of an angel, drawing me back in. “No!”
I open my eyes only to see her standing in the doorway with a gun in her hand. It feels like a dream, but I know it isn’t. She’s really here.
“You’re here …” I whisper.
She’s really back.
“You came back …” I whisper.
“Of course, I came back! I couldn’t just leave you here.”
Her words strike me like lightning.
She came back … for me?
“Let him go, Vladim,” she says, pointing her gun at him.
But there’s a man hiding behind the door, and now, he’s holding his gun up to her head too.
“No!” I yell, reaching out.
***
Alexis
I should’ve checked my surroundings.
“Drop it,” he says, clicking the gun into place.
For a moment, I hesitate, but there’s no way I can turn around in time to hit him before he hits me. After taking a deep breath, I lower the gun to the floor and hold up my hands, hoping he’ll spare me. But they wouldn’t kill me yet, right? They need me.
“Kick it away,” the man says.
I do as he asks. As the gun slips across the floor, Vladim stands up and turns to face me. “Well, well. Look what we’ve got here.”
“Let him go, Vladim, you don’t need him,” I say. “You wanted me.”
“Oh yes, I do.” He takes a step toward me.
“You promised me you’d keep him alive if I stayed in my home and waited for you to pick me up.”
“Yeah, but you see … you kinda broke that agreement.”
“To come here to save him! You weren’t going to let him live, were you?”
He shrugs. “Perhaps.”
“It was all a lie,” I hiss, my fists balling.
I look at Viktor whose face looks even more fucked up than before. Bruises and cuts all over, his skin is raw and red, and blood is smudged all over his shirt. He looks like someone who gave up.
“Why aren’t you fighting?” I say to him, tears welling up in my eyes at the sight of him. “Get up!”
“He’s given up, girl, can’t you see?” Vladim muses.
“Why? You can’t, Viktor.”
“Why?” Vladim laughs. “Because he gave you up. Because he loves you.” He laughs some more, but it doesn’t register with me because all I hear is the word love. Over and over again.
“You know how fucking amusing this all is?” Vladim says, shaking his head. “This is hilarious.”
“What is?” I growl, stepping forward, but the man holding the gun to my head grabs my arm to hold me back.
“You honestly think he’s the good guy. Well, let me tell you something … he isn’t. He worked for me, you know.”
“I know. He told me,” I say.
“Right,” Vladim says, pacing around the room, “but did he also tell you that he was the one who took you away from your mom?”
My eyes widen. “What?” My gaze darts to Viktor, who remains silent. The deafening sound of silence amid the truth.
“How do you think he got the scars?” Vladim muses. “He defied me. You were mine, and he stole you from me.”
“You were going to use her,” he murmurs.
“Shut up!” Vladim smacks him in the face, and I put my hand in front of my mouth.
“No! Don’t touch him.”
“You’re worried about him? After what he did to you?”
“Is it true?” I ask, looking Viktor directly in the eye. He nods slowly, confirming the worst.
“Tell her, Viktor,” Vladim says with a dirty smile on his face. “Tell her how she was so young when you stole her away from her mother and me.”
“You?” I mutter.
“Yes, me,” Vladim says, a glint in his eyes. “I’m your father.”
My heart skips a beat as I sink to the floor in shock and disbelief.
“Don’t listen to him, Lexi,” Viktor blurts out. “He’s only saying that to make you believe he’s the good guy.”
“Shut the fuck up and tell her exactly what you did,” Vladim spits at him, grabbing his arm to drag him toward me. “Tell her to her face how you were the cause of all her misery.”
His chin drops to his chest in defeat, and he begins to talk.
***
Viktor
Ten Years ago
I thought it would only be one time.
One time, when we, the snatchers, would fuck the girls to get them pregnant.
I wished it were only one time.
Of course, that was a lie.